Fins on radiator producing rust. I've had it running for 2 1/2 years.

[enjoiskaterguy]

I have an Alphacool OCOOL 360mm radiator in my custom water loop. Unfortunately it is producing rust evenly all throughout the fins of the radiator.

I have had the loop going in my system for about 2 years now. I have replaced the water, taken a blower to de-dust the radiator and fans and have monitored for any leaks (no visible leaks)

....I will say that every couple months I do see that I am loosing about 1-2oz of water when I am monitoring my reservoir water levels.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[InvalidError]

If you are talking about corrosion inside the radiator, are you putting rust inhibitors in the water? If I read the description correctly, the heatsink uses copper fins and steel for the rest, which means you get galvanic corrosion there unless there is something in the water to counter it. One simple source for that is automotive coolant.

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

If you are talking about corrosion inside the radiator, are you putting rust inhibitors in the water? If I read the description correctly, the heatsink uses copper fins and steel for the rest, which means you get galvanic corrosion there unless there is something in the water to counter it. One simple source for that is automotive coolant.

I use distilled water in my loop and that is all.

I should put automotive coolant in my loop???? What?

 

[InvalidError]

Automotive coolant is just 60% water, 40% ethylene glycol (anti-freeze) and a blend of corrosion inhibitors to protect the various metals in the coolant loop, nothing special. While distilled water may not be conductive initially, it will leech minerals, metals and other contaminants from the radiator and other components in the liquid loop and become at least somewhat conductive eventually. After that, galvanic corrosion kicks in and rusting accelerates drastically.

Those inhibitors are the reason why car coolant should be at least partly replaced every few years - keep the corrosion protection fresh to prevent the pump and radiator from getting eaten away.

 

[1LiquidPC]

What does the water condition itself look like? Probably just some evaporation over several months time. Also, if the rust color is just on the fin array externally, it could be caused by flux residue from solder during manufacturing. Any pics? Is the "rust" greenish like corrosion, or brownish?

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

Automotive coolant is just 60% water, 40% ethylene glycol (anti-freeze) and a blend of corrosion inhibitors to protect the various metals in the coolant loop, nothing special. While distilled water may not be conductive initially, it will leech minerals, metals and other contaminants from the radiator and other components in the liquid loop and become at least somewhat conductive eventually. After that, galvanic corrosion kicks in and rusting accelerates drastically.

Those inhibitors are the reason why car coolant should be at least partly replaced every few years - keep the corrosion protection fresh to prevent the pump and radiator from getting eaten away.

I honestly have never heard of using Automotive coolant when i researched what to put in my loop. I do have a silver coil in my loop and all my fittings are silver plated as well. I just doesn't seem to be doing the trick though. Any other alternatives to automotive coolant to put in my loop?

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

What does the water condition itself look like? Probably just some evaporation over several months time. Also, if the rust color is just on the fin array externally, it could be caused by flux residue from solder during manufacturing. Any pics? Is the "rust" greenish like corrosion, or brownish?

The water condition is Clean and Clear. Its only distilled water and I try and Add/replace some every once in awhile. My bottle of distilled water may be contaminated but i just can't confirm that visually.

the rust is Brown....and it only seems to be on the fin-array all throughout externally. I have also noticed a small build up of what looks to be some form of bacteria building up on my reservoir (on the glass potion of it).

I'll have photos up once later - I am way too tired to bother right now. haha.

 

[1LiquidPC]

Post pics if possible. I'm using distilled and killcoils myself. Is the stuff in your res a whitish film layer at water line? If so, its from lack of water circulation at surface. You will see folks w/ aquariums having same problem. I had this a few years back that I noticed at water line. Water itself looked fine. After this, I cleaned my reservoir and have since increase pump speed to full occasionally to prevent. I haven't seen since(about 2.5 yrs) I flush my system about every 6-8 months and inspect the water. It looks the same to me as fresh distilled. No odor or cloudy appearance.

Also, I'm thinking your rads are fine. There are other folks w/ same question. It looks like its just unpainted fins, not rust starting. I think my old Black Ice GTX 480mm radiator had this. If it was greenish, then corrosion would be likely. Internally, your rad is all copper. No other metals in the rad touch the water.